A 25-year-old McDuffie County man is dead after he lost control of a Jeep on Ridge Road Monday afternoon, local authorities said.

Trooper Stan White of the Georgia State Patrol Post in Thomson identified the man as Nicholas Wiley, of Ridge Road, Thomson. Mr. Wiley received an assortment of injuries and was flown by helicopter to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital in Augusta for treatment. He died as a result of those injuries during the night, authorities said.

A short time after Mr. Wiley flipped the 2004 Jeep about 5 p.m., two men happened by the scene and helped lift the vehicle off of him, said Trooper White. The men, Jeff Young and Bobby Clark, both employees of Brinkley Builders of Dearing, talked with The McDuffie Mirror about aiding the victim at the crash site.

"We were coming home from work and we caught a glimpse of a Jeep that was overturned," recalled Mr. Young. "We saw a man lying on the ground (pinned underneath the Jeep)."

The men said they lifted the Jeep off of Mr. Wiley. One of the men ran back to their pickup truck and fetched a cooler, which they used to wedge underneath a portion of the Jeep in an attempt to keep the vehicle's weight off of Mr. Wiley.

The victim lived just a short distance from where the wreck occurred and was a self-employed welder.

Personnel with the McDuffie County Emergency Medical Services, along with firefighters/first responders with the McDuffie County Fire/Rescue Services later arrived and began medical aid. Mr. Wiley later was taken by ambulance to an area close by to await transport to MCG by helicopter.

Trooper White said Mr. Wiley lost control of the Jeep while attempting to negotiate a curve westbound on Ridge Road. Mr. Wiley traveled 276 feet off the roadway before striking a driveway culvert. He then went airborne, traveling another 44 feet before landing sideways on the passenger side of the vehicle.

The trooper was assisted in investigating the wreck by GSP Post Commander Sgt. First Class Jason Johnson and Trooper First Class Steve Shelton. McDuffie County Sheriff's Department Deputies Kalvin Johnson and Robert Hoffman assisted with traffic control.

Mr. Wiley is the seventh person to be killed in traffic related mishaps this year in McDuffie County.